Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I see quite a few threads on here asking if this place or that place is safe....
Well these are my reflections on a safe place after an awful lot of years moving around to different places... And not always having the money to move to a more upscale place.
First - It amazes me that if you are that worried about being safe that you would even consider moving to the place you are so worried about being safe.
Second - safety is not always WHERE you live BUT what you make of where you live.
You could have the police station right next door and still be robbed, raped or violently accosted....
If you think that just because the homes are better or the schools are better or the area is better, that does not make it safer.. Not always.....
I have lived in San Bernardino, California before for a number of years.. Let me clue you in - San Bernardino used to be called murder capital of the US.. And has been close almost every year.. I lived down the street from an OG and his family.. and in one of the less prosperous neighborhoods.. We had 1 incident of being robbed and that was by someone who had been to our house to see one of our sons...Other than that we had no problems.. We were nice to people in the neighborhood, they were nice to us and did not have any problems with other people...
I now live in Alta Loma, CA which is very upscale and you see Bentleys, Ferraris, Aston Martins, etc driving in the neighborhood..There seem to be more crime here than other places..
Why?? Well I like to think it is because people come to these areas to do crime cause they think everyone has lots of stuff.. Also spoiled rich kids have nothing better to do at times...
I think overall if you act like you are scared of being someplace then you become a target or at least someone who gets messed with.. If you act like you are fine being where you are and act sensible and like a decent person, you will most likely not become a target...
Of course you are always going to find idiots or two everywhere you go, but usually you will be "safe" most anywhere you are....
So IMO if you have to ask is the place you are going safe...Maybe you should just stay home....
I see quite a few threads on here asking if this place or that place is safe....
Well these are my reflections on a safe place after an awful lot of years moving around to different places... And not always having the money to move to a more upscale place.
First - It amazes me that if you are that worried about being safe that you would even consider moving to the place you are so worried about being safe.
Second - safety is not always WHERE you live BUT what you make of where you live.
You could have the police station right next door and still be robbed, raped or violently accosted....
If you think that just because the homes are better or the schools are better or the area is better, that does not make it safer.. Not always.....
I have lived in San Bernardino, California before for a number of years.. Let me clue you in - San Bernardino used to be called murder capital of the US.. And has been close almost every year.. I lived down the street from an OG and his family.. and in one of the less prosperous neighborhoods.. We had 1 incident of being robbed and that was by someone who had been to our house to see one of our sons...Other than that we had no problems.. We were nice to people in the neighborhood, they were nice to us and did not have any problems with other people...
I now live in Alta Loma, CA which is very upscale and you see Bentleys, Ferraris, Aston Martins, etc driving in the neighborhood..There seem to be more crime here than other places..
Why?? Well I like to think it is because people come to these areas to do crime cause they think everyone has lots of stuff.. Also spoiled rich kids have nothing better to do at times...
I think overall if you act like you are scared of being someplace then you become a target or at least someone who gets messed with.. If you act like you are fine being where you are and act sensible and like a decent person, you will most likely not become a target...
Of course you are always going to find idiots or two everywhere you go, but usually you will be "safe" most anywhere you are....
So IMO if you have to ask is the place you are going safe...Maybe you should just stay home....
What they should be asking is, what are the property values in this neighborhood and are they likely to hold up over the long haul. And about schools you'd want to know if they are filled with non-English speaking kids. Those are the schools that are having the hardest time with test scores and graduation rates. Crime happens everywhere. Of course there are some areas where it is a daily thing, but you can see that when you look at the neighborhood. And you'll know what those schools are like too. Anyway, these are all questions they should be asking a realtor when they are being shown homes.
Steve Wynn's daughter was kidnapped for ransom in Spanish Trails, a young girl was raped and killed in Centennial Hills, a kid got shot near Palo Verde HS in Summerlin. When bad things happen in small towns or in various neighborhoods, people say " This is a quiet neighborhood, nothing like this ever happens around here." Random crime does happen, but it's not that common. Most of the random crime is property crime, like getting your car broken into. I think most areas of Vegas are relatively safe as long as you are aware of your surroundings at all times.
There are dangerous areas in any city and you can usually tell by the number of houses and businesses with bars on the windows, liquor stores instead of supermarkets, etc. I agree with Buzz on the school issue. ESL has become a real struggle and we have to figure something out- but that's another topic entirely.
Steve Wynn's daughter was kidnapped for ransom in Spanish Trails, a young girl was raped and killed in Centennial Hills, a kid got shot near Palo Verde HS in Summerlin. When bad things happen in small towns or in various neighborhoods, people say " This is a quiet neighborhood, nothing like this ever happens around here." Random crime does happen, but it's not that common. Most of the random crime is property crime, like getting your car broken into. I think most areas of Vegas are relatively safe as long as you are aware of your surroundings at all times.
There are dangerous areas in any city and you can usually tell by the number of houses and businesses with bars on the windows, liquor stores instead of supermarkets, etc. I agree with Buzz on the school issue. ESL has become a real struggle and we have to figure something out- but that's another topic entirely.
I agree with everything you said. A crime can happen anywhere. Just because it's a safe quiet place doesn't mean you won't be targetted.
There are dangerous areas in any city and you can usually tell by the number of houses and businesses with bars on the windows, liquor stores instead of supermarkets, etc. I agree with Buzz on the school issue. ESL has become a real struggle and we have to figure something out- but that's another topic entirely.
The problem isn't ESL. The problem is poverty. My wife is an ESL and special education teacher. Her poor white, English-speaking students in Florida are just as likely to wind up incarcerated as her poor, immigrant, Spanish-speaking students in Nevada. Perhaps MORE likely. The common denominator is "poor."
When people don't think they have other options, they turn to crime.
Do I have a solution? No. We have spent eight trillion dollars since LBJ fighting the "war on poverty" and there are more poor people now than ever. Ironically, we cannot fix poverty with money. (Half the money we DO spend on welfare is spent on families that started with a teen birth. Perhaps THAT'S where we should be marshaling our resources -- reducing unplanned pregnancies.)
the problem isn't esl. The problem is poverty. my wife is an esl and special education teacher. Her poor white, english-speaking students in florida are just as likely to wind up incarcerated as her poor, immigrant, spanish-speaking students in nevada. Perhaps more likely. The common denominator is "poor."
when people don't think they have other options, they turn to crime.
Do i have a solution? No. We have spent eight trillion dollars since lbj fighting the "war on poverty" and there are more poor people now than ever. Ironically, we cannot fix poverty with money. (half the money we do spend on welfare is spent on families that started with a teen birth. Perhaps that's where we should be marshaling our resources -- reducing unplanned pregnancies.)
The problem isn't ESL. The problem is poverty. My wife is an ESL and special education teacher. Her poor white, English-speaking students in Florida are just as likely to wind up incarcerated as her poor, immigrant, Spanish-speaking students in Nevada. Perhaps MORE likely. The common denominator is "poor."
When people don't think they have other options, they turn to crime.
Do I have a solution? No. We have spent eight trillion dollars since LBJ fighting the "war on poverty" and there are more poor people now than ever. Ironically, we cannot fix poverty with money. (Half the money we DO spend on welfare is spent on families that started with a teen birth. Perhaps THAT'S where we should be marshaling our resources -- reducing unplanned pregnancies.)
Yes!
Finding the root of the problem is the best way to go about preventing poverty, but is unplanned pregnancies the root? How/why did the teen become pregnant? Lack of education? Bad parenting? Were their parent's teens also when they had their kids?
So much work involved in trying to prevent the problem.
I do believe that we throw money at the wrong issue sometimes.
I am talking about Las Vegas by the way.(Just in case the moderator says that this should be taken to the general discussion section because this is not Las Vegas specific).
I've been reading the 'is this area safe' posts for years. It's not just Vegas, I've seen them on other city forums too. But I think we get more of them because a move to Vegas is perceived as more unusual than most other city to city moves. If you know Chicago and you move to NYC, it's just more of the same and it's a logical move. A city is a city.
So many of the folks coming here are from East Podunk and don't really know about living in any city. They want to live someplace where they don't roll up the sidewalks at 8pm. They want to live where there is something to do and people are out and about. They are tired of winters that last half the years and gloomy skies. In that sense, a move to Vegas is outside the logical progression of moves for these people. They are out of their comfort zone.
Fear is irrational, and why people fear one area over any other is largely based on their personal experiences and biases not on any factual reasons.
If you think a place is unsafe, you will likely act fearful and it shows. Criminals will see this and will be more likely to target you. Self-fulfilling as it were. If you give in to irrational fear easily, I'd recommend staying in your home behind locked doors at all times.
The problem isn't ESL. The problem is poverty. My wife is an ESL and special education teacher. Her poor white, English-speaking students in Florida are just as likely to wind up incarcerated as her poor, immigrant, Spanish-speaking students in Nevada. Perhaps MORE likely. The common denominator is "poor."
When people don't think they have other options, they turn to crime.
Do I have a solution? No. We have spent eight trillion dollars since LBJ fighting the "war on poverty" and there are more poor people now than ever. Ironically, we cannot fix poverty with money. (Half the money we DO spend on welfare is spent on families that started with a teen birth. Perhaps THAT'S where we should be marshaling our resources -- reducing unplanned pregnancies.)
That is absolutely correct. In my undergraduate studies, I have never heard of language being associated with crime. It has always been socioeconomic status.
There's so many problems associated with low SES that contribute to criminal behavior.
It just so happens that Spanish-speaking people are mostly poor.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
